
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,158
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Cardcassonne
- 2–5 players
- 30–45 min
- Complexity 1.7/5
- 2009

Expansion for Alhambra
2019
Rules assistance for Alhambra: Designers' Expansion – Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Alhambra: Designers' Expansion – Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen is an expansion for Alhambra released in 2019 for 2–6 players, 45–60 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, Michael Schacht, and Mike Elliott and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Tile Placement.
Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen were offered together under the "Get to Know" pledge for Alhambra: Designers' Expansions Box. Alhambra Zoo: The animals are loose in the Alhambra! Your goal is to bring them to the chambers. But each kind of animal only brings victory points if they are in a chamber with just their kind. Each time a chamber is revealed to the building market two animal tiles are drawn and placed on that chamber. There are 6 different animal kinds in the game, each awarding points at the end, but only if it is kept in a chamber which only has his kind on it. In order to move the animals to the desired chambers a player has the option to play a money card at the end of their turn, moving an animal one space (from building to building) for each value on the card plaid. The player who organizes their animals most cleverly will earn additional victory points at the end of the game. Contents: 18 animal chips Buildings of Power: The Towers in the game are replaced with new ones, each having a special ability: Blueprint - The player rolls a die and draws that many building tiles, choosing one to keep. The others are returned to the draw tower in the order the player chooses. The building tile the player kept can be placed on the building market at the start of any player's turns, replacing any already on the tableau. The exchanged tile is placed back in the draw tower. Loan - The player rolls a die and draws that many money cards from the draw pile, choosing one of them to keep. The others are returned to the top of the draw pile in the order the player chooses. Discount - The player rolls a die and places it on the tower. Every time the player purchases his first building in the round, he can choose to decrease the value on the die by one to decrease the purchase prize by one. Pinnacle - The player rolls a die and places it on the tower. When scoring walls that number is added to the shortest external wall. This can propel the smaller wall to be the biggest and therefore score more points for the player. Contents: 11 alternate tower tiles, 4 white dice, 32 black dice, and 1 purple die Travelling Craftsmen: The Craftsman came from the far away—Carcasonne to Andalusia—to help build the Alhambra. At the start of the game each player will receive one traveling craftsman which can be used for their ability on a future turn. Once used, the craftsman travels to the next player in clockwise position who then can use him. The craftsman have various abilities that can give a player bonuses on their turns. Following are some of the abilities: Switch - Before buying a building tile the player may swap two buildings on the building market. Change - The player may exchange an money card in his hand with one from the display. Direction - A player may build a building in their Alhambra, rotating it in any direction desired. Contents: 6 craftsmen cards
Alhambra: Designers' Expansion – Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Alhambra: Designers' Expansion – Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen is 45–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Alhambra: Designers' Expansion – Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Alhambra: Designers' Expansion – Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen belongs to these categories: Medieval, City Building, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Tile Placement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Alhambra: Designers' Expansion – Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen are: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, Michael Schacht, and Mike Elliott. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Alhambra: Designers' Expansion – Alhambra Zoo / Buildings of Power / Travelling Craftsmen as an expansion for Alhambra. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Alhambra to use it. Check that your edition of Alhambra is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.